Business & Real Estate

Ellie Van Houtte/Town Crier Natalia Zatarian joins the ranks of Los Altos business owners with the opening of EarthBeauty Apothecary at 271 State St. An esthetician by trade, Zatarian sells several lines of organic, cruelty-free wellness and beauty products.

For the past two years, Natalia Zatarian dreamed of opening a natural wellness and beauty store. She didn’t think, however, that it would happen so soon – as in last week.

Zatarian, a 26-year-old esthetician and makeup artist, opened EarthBeauty Apothecary at 271 State St. Friday, offering body, hair care and lifestyle products she said are organic, cruelty-free and “as chemical-free as possible.”

She noted that the opportunity to open her own store fell in her lap when she originally approached Passerelle Investment Co. months ago about renting a small workspace in Los Altos to offer her esthetics services. Instead, Zatarian found herself in the midst of a pitch to Passerelle management about opening up her dream store.

One submitted business plan and several interviews later, Zatarian’s dream became a sudden and unexpected reality.

“I’m 26, so I always thought of it as something that’s way far into the future,” she said. “I didn’t really expect it to happen in Los Altos, but I think it’s going to be great here … there’s a market for it. It really was kind of just divine timing.”

Zatarian said the idea behind her store is to offer a one-stop location where customers can find and sample natural products that are typically hard to find or sold solely online. She also plans to offer a host of vitamin products, as well as other items such as protein and green drinks.

“I just noticed that there was no place in the market where I could go myself and get completely pure, organic products,” said Zatarian, who previously worked as an esthetician at her mother’s Los Altos hair salon – A Hair Lounge at 220 State St. “It’s really hard to find. You can get a lot of stuff online, but you can’t walk into a shop and find it. … For most women – and most men, too – you want to try things. You don’t want to just buy it.”

And while Zatarian conceded that opening a new business has had its share of challenges, she credits her mother, Laura Zatarian – a Los Altos hair salon owner since 2003 – for offering advice when she needs it.

“I’m leaning on her a lot. … She’s definitely helped me in terms of the business side, even if my vision is much different than anything that she would do,” Zatarian said of her mother.

Zatarian added that her initial plan is to feature more commonly known natural products. She added that her store might also feature a section of locally made products in the future, and she’ll likely host workshops on various topics, including aromatherapy, in the coming months.